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Yeerks (Species)
A Yeerk is a parasite that takes over the body of another being by way of infestation through the ear canal. It resembles a small, grey-green slug about two inches long. Yeerks in their natural state have decent senses of smell and touch, but they are blind until they enter a host, as they do not have eyes. They possess antennae-like protrusions called palps, as well as osmosis nodes, small organs that process nutrients in the Yeerks' native pools. Although the presence of a circulatory system of some kind is debatable, apparently Yeerks have no hearts, as evidenced by the description of a human morphing into a Yeerk, in which the human heart stops and dissolves away completely. Yeerks communicate in their natural state using a language of ultrasonic squeaks, and use sonar to get a basic picture of the surroundings. The process of infestation by a Yeerk is not totally painless, but it does not hurt as much as it seems like it should, as a numbing chemical is secreted to anaesthetize and dilate the ear canal itself so that the slug-like Yeerk will not cause any physical harm to the host. It is able to manipulate and puncture a variety of alien ear canal structures including bone and membrane to reach the brain. As the yeerk reaches the eardrum and other ear canal structures, it pushes them aside. After the process of infestation, the Yeerk flattens itself into what has been described as "hammered-out gum" and sinks into all of the cracks and crevices of the brain. From there, all control is submitted involuntarily to the Yeerk (however, the host may fight and very rarely win). At this point, the host has no control over itself, no secrets, and no privacy. The Yeerk can even play with the memories of its former host. Although control can be returned to the host by the Yeerk, this does not occur often as most Yeerks prefer their parasitic relationship to a symbiotic one. Yeerks cannot stay within their hosts for more than three Earth days. After this period of time, they need to bathe in a Yeerk pool and absorb Kandrona rays, the rays of their home sun. Without these rays, a Yeerk eventually starves. However, there are two ways for Yeerks to survive without Kandrona rays, one terrible and cruel way being to eat other Yeerks. This cannibalism is not normal and a taboo and is only displayed by one Yeerk, Esplin 9466 the lesser (Visser Three's twin sibling; after being cut off from Yeerk society by his twin. He kills Human-Controllers, opening his head with brute force and eat the Slug with his maul. More information on the Yeek may be found HERE. Group Influence Within ST_Deep_Space_9, the Yeerks had formed an alliance with the Dominion in exchange for genetic modification so they would no longer have to leave the body every three days. Some Yeerks were enhanced and agreed to assist the Dominion in a quiet take over. This was prevented when Cadence Maddix CP/Cadence Maddix assassinated the Female Founder in 2376. Later in the early 2380's the Yeerks were at it again, trying their own coup within the Federation. Managing to get high level officers, some were made into controllers including Corban Maddix CP/Corban Maddix, Andrus Elbrunne and Jillian Horton. Little has been heard of them sense as more advanced security screenings have been implemented. Category:Species Information